INTRODUCTION
Welcome (or hopefully it’s welcome back?) to Punktastic 13.04.
This month is a special one, because it’s entirely acoustic.
We all love a good acoustic singalong, so sit back, put your feet
up, and relax with our hand-picked selection of the best new
acoustic artists out there.
This month is a golden grab-bag of acoustic goodness.
We’ve got English, American, Austrian, some that are more folky,
some that are more punky, and we’ve even thrown some politics
into the mix.
Enjoy and we’ll see you back here for 13.05 next month.
— Maryam & the Punktastic team
PS. Visit http://pnkts.tc/comp1304 to download all the tracks
for free. There’s also a place for you to give us your email, so we
can tell you when 13.05 is ready for your ears.

Joe has an interesting double set
of influences.
For one, there’s the years of
influence from his upbringing in
and around the English folk scene.
Then again, he’s spent the last
decade as a member of Random
Hand.
This folky start combined with
his venture into punk makes for a
really interesting sound and that’s
why we’ve chosen this track for
the compilation.

It’s not a million miles away
from Nick Drake or Damien Rice
- definitely not what you’ll be
expecting if you’re familiar with
Joe from Random Hand.
facebook.com/joetilstonmusic

02. JIMMY HOLLAND
Kids on the Run

As a Leeds man might say: this is
acoustic folk/punk from Leeds.
‘Kids On The Run’ is taken from
an EP Jimmy recorded last year,
and “it’s about me being anxious
as anything.. I think/hope people
can relate to it.”
Right now Jimmy’s recording his
next EP so keep a look out for it
later this year.
jimmyholland.bandcamp.com

03. DAN ALLEN
Wrecking Ball

Folk punk born out of the embers
of old bands, Dan Allen’s band
Ducking Punches started as a
necessity, after losing a band but
refusing to stop playing music.
A history of depression and
alcohol dependency leads to
deeply personal lyrics tinged with
melancholy.
This, entwined with growing up in
Peterborough, has given him an
obsession with gritty storytelling
and social commentary.

Manchester-born Emma fixes
guitars for a living. But she also
loves to tour and sing.

first album, ‘Keep Your Eyes On
The Road’ through Aaahhh!!! Real
Records.

She’s toured all round UK and
Europe, “meeting the best people
ever through playing music and
drinking crap beer.” As it ever
was.

emmahallows.bandcamp.com

‘Sam’s Floor’ is about “fucking up
as a kid and paying the price for it
years later, and knowing the only
way you can get away from it is
to run, as fast and as far as you
can.”
This year Emma’s releasing her

05. LUKE GODWIN
LEAVE THIS TOWN

Luke started out in music learning
how to record other people
playing and singing. But he ended
up writing his own songs, and
then felt that timeless urge to get
up and play them live.

‘Leave This Town’ is about, well,
leaving your town. “It’s getting
away from the things that hold you
down, with the people that matter,
and making your life what you
want it to be.”

Having just finished his first full
length, he’s getting on the road
to share his music as much as he
can.

facebook.com/iarelukegodwin

06. NICKY MORGAN

DOESN’T MEAN IT SHOULD BE

Acoustic, punk, folk, country, experimental - Nicky’s is a comedic,
passionate take on life.
Not afraid to sell himself either, he
told us: “I enjoy doing it and enjoy
playing it for you. If you’d like me
to play sometime, get in touch!
A friend recorded it for him with
two mics, one ach on guitar and
vocals. “It’s not got much production on it, just something for me
to listen to, to remember the lyrics
before my first gig.”

07. JAMES CHOICE
Kathleen

James is the Austrian guy we
called out in the introduction. After
a long journey to London and
back, “I’m still the same guy I’ve
always been, but without a thick
British English accent.”
He tells us he’s always the first to
pick up the guitar (and last to put
it down?), and he’ll “start singing
at the top of his lungs at any given
chance.
How else to describe him? He
says he’s the punk rocker who’s
never out of tune, he’s your bad
conscience after waking up
passed out on the floor, and he’s
the cute dog that howls his way

into your hearts.
Kathleen is a love song inspired by
the relationship of Tom Waits and
Kathleen Brennan.
facebook.com/jameschoicemusic

08. REN
It’s You

Ever heard, “it’s not you, it’s me”
during a break-up? Well Ren isn’t
standing for that bullshit anymore.
Her track “It’s You” tells it like it is.
Borrowing lyrics from nursery
rhymes, Ren has given the song a
creepy, topsy-turvy feel, although
she tells us this song “probably
represents the softer end” of her
music, “whilst still retaining some
venom.”

Alongside music Ren is an artist,
organiser and political activist,
and is currently working on a huge
public sculpture about street harassment, feminism, and violence
against women.
renspitsatmagpies.tumblr.com

09. MAKE OUT KIDS
Expecting the Rain

Alan Jaggs and Paul Knewman,
two best friends from Bicester, are
the acoustic duo known as Make
Out Kids.
Green Day, Reel Big Fish and
Motion City Soundtrack have all
influenced them heavily, and at the
moment they’re running through a
2013 line up of pub gigs and local
festivals.
They’re quick to tell us just how
much they love every single moment of being in this band, writing
music and playing shows.

‘Expecting The Rain’ is about
“how even after you think you’ve
cut someone out of your life for
good, they still manage to somehow crawl back into it.”
facebook.com/makeoutkidsband

10. NICK MORETON

When Your Heart’s Already Left

Split across Leicester and Birmingham, Nick Moreton plays
for jangly indie/emo songsters
Nobody, Ever.
Once described as “a chunky
Dowsing,” they’re still unsure
if this is about their writing or
their waist-lines.
“When Your Heart’s Already
Left is about being in a ten year
relationship, although Nick’s the
first to say that “I am a terrible
person to be in a relationship
with!” At least he’s honest.

This is an acoustic demo for a
song appearing on their new
EP, due out at the start of June.
“I tried to rip off You Gave Your
Love To Me Softly by Weezer
and Gin Blossoms as much as
humanly possible.”
nobodyever.bandcamp.com

11. MIKE WILLIAMS
Young Bones

The Strong Silent Type is the
name of the acoustic solo
project by frontman Michael
Williams.
After the break-up of Mike’s
former band Jumping Ships in
2012, he continued to write and
demo songs on his acoustic
guitar, under the title The
Strong Silent Type.
This is one of the tracks for
his as-yet-unreleased album
(originally planned as a
collaboration),

recorded in his hometown of
Bracknell near Reading.
It draws from all sorts of
influences including Elliot
smith, Jesse Lacey, Andy Hull
and bands such as The Cure,
The National and Elbow.
Mike specifically wanted to
release songs in a different vein
to his work in Jumping Ships,
saying that he wanted to write
“simpler, more honest and
introspective music.” Enjoy.

12. DEAD END DAYS

The Declaration of Independence

Dead End Days first started out
as a singer songwriter project
from Mike Petruccelli, with the
album “The Longest Day of My
Life.”

“Our goal is to produce music
that is energetic and powerful,
but still manages to have
a sound that is dynamic and
emotional at the same time.”

It was released in June of 2010
under Petruccelli’s former solo
moniker “Arthur Killroad.” ‘The
Longest Day of my Life’ was
rereleased by Death To False
Hope Records in April 2011
under the new band name.

Out in Chicago they’re currently
planning a 2013 release and
touring around the city.

Dead End Days’ sound is
on a more experimental and
personal approach to punk.

deadenddays.bandcamp.com

13. ANDREW CREAM
IT’S MY DAY

Straight from his brand new
EP, this track is from Peterborough’s Andrew Cream.
Formerly of horror punks The
Ruined, ‘It’s My Day’ shows off
his brand of poppy acoustic
punk.

This song’s about how fucking
up isn’t the end of the world,
hey “you can pick yourself up
and learn from your mistakes.”
It’s a fitting end for Punktastic
13.04.
andrewcream.bandcamp.com

Thank you for taking the time to read this magazine
and listen to our fourth compilation of 2013.
If your band would like to be on one of our monthly
compilations, then please email a song and a bit about
yourselves over to tom.aylott@punktastic.com.